I'm afraid that my CAI will suck water into the engine during the heavy rain. Winter is coming, so does the winter storm. Will there be any problem if i just do regular driving (65-75 mph) on the free way during the heavy down pour?

 

That shouldn't be problem, but you have to worry about leaving it out during a downpour....especially if you have a vented hood.

 

If you don't have a bypass valve then that would be a good purchase. This wont completely eliminate the risk of getting water into the engine, but it will greatly reduce it.

As long as you don't drive through a big puddle of water you should be fine. I've driven my lude in the rain a lot with my CAI and have had no problems. Just need to use good judgement and avoid the puddles. I always drive on the middle or left lane since my cai is on the right, this will help out too.

 

check http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=153116

xviper has some info for "plugging" the rain gutter so you don't get a drip onto the filter.

 

im assuming that all u CAI owners have the fake ducts cut out right?
if not , then will i have more rain getting near my CAI
lucky we dont have that much rain though

 

When I had my CAI I had the faux vent cut out, I now have FI but my intake filter is in the same location as the CAI with the cutout vent, I live in a fairly wet climate (Seattle) and have never had a problem.

 

No problems at all in the wet with my AEM CAI.

 

Since that thread that 3ngin33r1 quoted, I have done an experiment. I poured water down the rain channel along the right side engine compartment. A slow pour resulted in the water going around the hole in the following picture. A high flow pour resulted in the water going down that hole and falling directly on top of where the AEM CAI filter would be. Bottom line? PLUG THAT HOLE!


If you just drive in heavy rain and don't go into a deep pool, your forward speed will keep the water from going down the wrong place. If you park your car for any length of time in a HEAVY downpour, WATCH OUT! Enough water can soak the filter and possible pool inside the filter due to surface tension of the bottom of the filter that at the first start, the engine could suck in dangerous amounts of water.

If you feel you must cut another hole to let in more air, I would suggest cutting a hole in the plastic that divides the air filter compartment and the front grill opening. Then rain will not hit the filter directly as what might be a more likely scenario if the fake duct is opened up.

 

Just out of curiosity, with the hole plugged, where does the water go? Does it run into the engine bay?

 

Some will go into the engine bay, some will fall into the area in front of the rad, but most will continue down that path and go down the next hole, which is a bit larger. That hole, at least takes the water down where it won't fall onto the filter.